October 27, 2025 | 02:31 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Israeli government continues to bar foreign journalists from entering the Gaza Strip, despite increasing international pressure. According to a report by Anadolu, on Sunday, October 26, 2025, the government told its Supreme Court that it would review the policy within a month and present the results on November 23.
This move comes after several media and press freedom organizations petitioned the Supreme Court against the ban, which they argued hindered public access to information. However, in their response to the court, the Israeli government affirmed that the ban would remain in place until a new decision is made.
Journalists are only allowed in the area referred to as the "yellow line," an imaginary boundary between the territory still occupied by Israeli forces and those from which it had pulled out.
Last week, the Foreign Press Association (FPA) in Israel expressed its disappointment with the Supreme Court's decision to allow the government to continue to prohibit journalists from directly covering the situation in Gaza.
Allegations of War Atrocities Cover-up
Several Palestinian and international human rights and press freedom organizations have deemed the ban an attempt by Israel to cover up its military atrocities. Palestinian authorities have recorded at least 238 journalists killed and dozens injured in Israeli attacks since October 2023.
Over the two-year span of the war, more than 68,000 Palestinians have been killed and 170,000 injured due to Israeli military strikes in Gaza. Despite the first phase of the ceasefire taking effect on October 10 under the 20-point plan by US President Donald Trump, which includes a prisoner exchange and a Gaza reconstruction plan without Hamas, attacks and journalist access restrictions continue.
The Murder of Saleh Aljafarawi
Digital censorship allegations against journalists in Gaza also occurred. According to a report by TRT World, social media giant Meta deleted the Instagram account of journalist Saleh Aljafarawi just hours after he was shot dead on October 12 in the Sabra District, Gaza City.
Aljafarawi, 28, was known for documenting Israeli attacks and alleged war crimes for his 4.5 million Instagram followers. In his final video, he was broadcasting the situation in Gaza amid an internet blackout on the day the ceasefire was announced. Now, both his account and digital archives have disappeared, including from the Wayback Machine site.
UN Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, condemned the action. She stated that deleting the accounts of slain journalists is akin to killing them twice. In a post on X, she wrote, "May the memory of the 250 journalists murdered in Gaza be honored in the genocide museum that must be part of the reparations program owed to the Palestinians, when the genocide actually ends."
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